10 Things in choosing the Right Web Hosting company

Do a research for the right web hosting company suitable for your website. So as to reach a more relevant audience and generate maximum revenue.

Before reading further put everything aside and think through on your business needs. This is because you can never get the right web hosting company for your business needs without first, knowing what you need.

If you don’t know what you need you can never identify where the solution lies.

For example, a starter doesn’t need to care much about bandwidth limit or storage facilities since most web hosting companies offer a starter plan suitable for minimum traffic websites.

For most starters, the shared hosting plan is the ideal hosting package to purchase. It’s cheap, reliable, easy to maintain and sufficient enough for the most website just starting out.

Here are some important questions you’ll need to answer correctly so you can choose the right web hosting company for your blog.

Are you building something common using CMS like WordPress or custom made?

Do you need some special software running your blog?

Are you building an Ecommerce blog or content publishing powerhouse?

What traffic level are you expecting in the near future?

Linux or Windows applications?

These are just a few of the important questions you’ll need to answer before anything. Once you’re through, below is a list of 10 web hosting checklist to look out for in any web hosting company you want to deal with.

1. Entry Level Price vs Renewal Cost.

It is a common marketing tactic in the web hosting industry to offer an amazing discount price for new hosting plans but the renewal fee might be higher than what you can afford.

Take a moment to go through the price list before purchasing any hosting package. If the renewal fee won’t be affordable for you at the expiration period, it is best to consider another hosting company. Unless you’re hoping to migrate to another host when your hosting expires.

However, like the old saying goes “you always get what you pay for”. Cheap hosting fee shouldn’t be one of your criteria for selecting the better hosting company. It is a good idea to compare prices, but also look into the quality of services and feature rich comparison.

With little investment comes little result.

2. Money Back Guarantee and Refund policy.

Don’t be surprised when some hosting companies do request for a cancellation fee. This mean even during the free trial period you decide to cancel your hosting plan you’ll have to pay for cancellation service otherwise, you might not be able to move your files.

So read through the web hosting company’s terms of service properly before doing business with the company. As an advice, avoid any web hosting company that request for a cancellation fee if you ever decide to terminate your hosting plan.

For such a policy in itself shows a company that doesn’t care about the services rendered or customer satisfaction but is after generating more revenue at any cost.

3. Live/Technical/24 Hours Support.

If the shortlisted web hosting company fails to offer any of these customer support department, It is best you check the next web hosting company. There should be 24 hours live chat available and competent technical department readily available to provide adequate technical assistance when the need arise.

If your host lags behind in these areas, I suggest you continue searching for the right web hosting company for you.

4. Feature Rich Cpanel.

Though this is more of a basic requirement nowadays but don’t be too surprised if the web hosting company does not offer these features or had to bill you extra for something as basic as this.

5. Add-on Domains.

Many web hosting companies offer additional add-on domain for a single hosting account. This is something you might need to look into if you’re migrating an existing hosting plan to another web host.

If you’re having 5 add-on domain in your current hosting plan, then you need to purchase an equal or greater hosting package specifications so as to accommodate your 5 add-on domains. Make sure to check the hosting plan features and see that it meet your hosting need.

6. Available and affordable Backup Plan.

At a time like this, you need to have your entire blog back up and ready to bring back the life you’ve just lost. Ask the hosting company what the backup plan is like. Trust me, this is an important question and you’ll need to ask the shortlisted web hosting company before going any step further.

Someone had an issue with a popular web hosting company when he requested for his blog backup files. He was charged an extra $15 to recover his blog backup. Though this happens after the hosting account expiration period.

Still, it is good to ask so you know what it is like with the fees or rules that guide backup services.

7. Read Trustworthy Website Review.

While most services and product review by affiliates are just after the commission gain, there are some sites that honestly and genuinely write reviews to enlighten and educate a potential customer.

Visit these sites and read through their reviews, comparison charts, and editorial recommendations. From there you can even dig out what features, price list or services your preferred hosting company didn’t make visible on their website.

Especially, look out for review sites that allow users to share their personal experience using the service/product.

8. Uptime and DownTime Scores of the Web Hosting Company.

This is one of the most important areas you should never overlook in a web hosting company. If you’re a business owner, you never want your website to be down for a second.

Even a second server downtime could cost you hundreds of Naira lost in possible revenue. There are lots of server testing tools that offer free trial account you can take advantage of to check your preferred web hosting company to rate their uptime scores.

You need a web hosting company that operates on a powerful server and very stable network connection. The recommended uptime score is 99.5%. If it goes below this value, it might mean a red flag. You’ll need to think through on the choice of web host you’re making.

9. Please! Read The Terms and Condition.

Don’t just skim through it but read every single word of it. I know this is time-consuming and looks like an irrelevant task. The terms of service are important rules you should read. It Clearly states what could possibly lead to a legal action against you. What you need to know about the use of the products and services you’re purchasing.

10. Hardware Issues.

This is not something easy to detect especially if the web hosting company did not disclose this on their website. You will need to do a bit of research or ask others who are likely savvy in this area.

Hardware issues could either make or break the web hosting service provider performance and that of your website. The web hosting company needs to disclose on their website what type of hardware they are using.

Are they top-of-the-line new hardware machines or some scrap put together by the engineers in the early 60s?

Conclusion.

Choosing a web host is not about looking out for the best or perfect hosting company. It is all about choosing the right web hosting company for your type of blog and online business.

Blogs are not created equal so also businesses are not the same. When researching for a web host for your next blog project, remember that your needs come first before other hosting criteria.

Why settle for less than 99.9% uptime? Visit www.garanntor.ng for the cheapest, blazing fast and most reliable web hosting services.